Two new birther suits filed in Alabama courts

Madison Underwood is a staff writer for Weld and writes news, politics and more. He has lived in Birmingham since coming here for college in 2002. Madison is originally from Livingston, Ala., and the Black Belt region still holds a special place in his heart.

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Two new suits were filed in Alabama court Monday, the same day that a Jefferson County […]

Two new suits were filed in Alabama court Monday, the same day that a Jefferson County judge threw out a related case.

The official Certificate of Live Birth for one Barack Hussein Obama, II. No conspiracy here, birthers—this image is a cropped version of the original.

On Monday morning, Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Helen Shores Lee tossed out a suit filed by a Birmingham man named Albert E. Hendershot, Jr. that claimed “Barack Hussein Obama, II is not a natural born citizen of the United States and is not qualified to be on the ballot as a Presidential candidate.”

As Judge Lee was dismissing Hendershot’s suit, two nearly identical were filed. One, filed in Jefferson County by Harold Sorensen of Luverne, was randomly assigned to Judge Lee. The second case was filed in St. Clair County by Tommy Thompson of Pell City.

Aside from the courts they were filed in and the names of the plaintiffs, the two new suits are virtually identical. Both seek “a preliminary injunction against Mark Kennedy, Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party, to prevent certification of Candidate Mr. Obama for 2012 Alabama ballot access pending final hearing based on factual evidentiary findings.” The suits claim that the certification of Obama’s candidacy for the 2008 ballot was “the greatest crime ever perpetrated against the American people,” and, “a crime so egregious that it threatens the founding principles upon which this country was based.”

Al Hendershot issues a series of no comments to the press after his suit was dismissed on Monday.

As in Hendershot’s suit, the plaintiffs in the two new filings are requesting that Mark Kennedy produce the “original long-form birth certificate and microfiche copy of such original birth certificate” for Obama, as well as the application to a Social Security number allegedly belonging to Obama. And, as in Hendershot’s suit, the two new suits claim Obama is not a “natural-born” citizen, and that that matters.

“Within less than two hours AFTER the Jefferson County Circuit Court dismissed the ‘birther’ lawsuit filed against me, I have been sued AGAIN by another person in Jefferson County claiming the same thing,” Kennedy wrote on his Facebook wall. “Talk about clogging up the court system….”

Kennedy wrote that he would ask for legal fees when he opposes the next round of birther suits, and in a later post called on Republicans “to put a stop to this since they are all over Democrats about filing frivolous lawsuits!”

The suits include identical affidavits filed in support of the motion. Sorensen’s filing also included a copy of a letter he sent to Kennedy.

Following the dismissal on Monday of Hendershot’s suit, Barry Ragsdale, an attorney for Kennedy, told the press that he has a rapid-response team to deal with birther complaints. “SEAL Team 6,” he said, referring jokingly to the elite special forces team known for killing Osama bin Laden.

“One thing I’ve learned about birthers is you can never say ‘die,’” Ragsdale said. “They have filed these in other states. They’re pursuing them everywhere. The facts don’t matter to them. The law doesn’t matter to them. I hope we never see it again. I hope this is the end of it. Common sense needs to take over, but there’s been a shortage of it on their side.”